Sanford plans major southeast-side development

A significant medical development for Sanford Health is being planned for southeast Sioux Falls.

The health system owns about 100 acres on the northeast side of 57th Street and Highway 100, or Veterans Parkway, and the first construction on it could start next spring.

“It’s a great location, and we’re excited about it,” said Paul Hanson, executive vice president of Sanford USD Medical Center, who leads the Sioux Falls region.

Hanson envisions the initial project to be similar to what Sanford is building on the west side at 41st Street and Ellis Road. That facility is a 42,000-square-foot clinic with room to add other services.

The southeast side will start with a similar footprint and likely grow. About 75 acres can be built on. The rest of the property is wetlands.

“We’re having discussions about a free-standing emergency department, a 24-hour urgent care center and whether we do both or just the one,” Hanson said. “Do we look at expanding women’s in that part of the community? We haven’t dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s.”

The area itself holds appeal, though. It will be the first major development for Sanford east of Minnesota Avenue.

“It’s also a reach into the northwest corner of Iowa and the southwest corner of Minnesota,” Hanson said.

Sanford also has a longstanding partnership with Lewis Drug, which is planning to join the development with a new store, CEO Mark Griffin said, comparing the growing neighborhood to the area on the west side where Lewis plans to open next to Sanford later this year.

“We enjoy a great relationship with them and expect it to continue,” he said. “It’s a win-win deal.”

The store will be built in conjunction with Sanford as it is on the west side, he added.

The property also was one of the several options presented to Sioux Falls Lutheran School, which opted to build instead on Sanford land at 69th Street and Tallgrass Avenue.

While Sanford needs to finalize its uses for the site, “if there’s something the community needs … there will be additional land out there. But we have to figure out what’s best for us,” Hanson said. “There’s nothing on my radar screen that says we’d sell it. When we buy land, there’s always an intent to look at growth opportunities, and if we look at partnering, it’s about how that aligns with Sanford’s mission and vision, and assists us in providing care.”

The property lends itself to additional commercial development, such as a hotel, he said, adding “we’ve had relationships with developers in the past where we’ve been a minority owner, and it’s worked out well. I think we’d strongly consider it.”

The city envisions the intersection of 57th Street and Veterans Parkway developing similar to 85th Street and Minnesota Avenue, said Mike Cooper, director of planning and building services.

“We’re trying to create more employment in the southeast growth area of the city,” Cooper said. “Infrastructure is in place for the development to move forward. Medical services and other neighborhood services and some commercial could all be part of that future intersection development. There are active neighborhoods out there, and as that continues, it will generate more demand for those types of services.”

The city owns 57 acres on the northwest corner of the intersection, which is wetlands and not developable. The south side of the intersection is largely family-owned farmland.

The timeline for development could depend on when the state extends Veterans Parkway south and southwest, Cooper said.